White Chocolate
by charlaXOyates
Summary: In which Keith continuously finds messages with weird pick up lines and chocolates popping up in front of his room and Lance denies having any connection to it. Meanwhile, Valentine's Day approaches.
1. Chapter 1

" _I can be the handle to your sword, or I can 'handle' your 'sword'~"_

Keith had to blink several times to make sure he was reading correctly; the golden ink was a little too sparkly for his morning eyes, after all. Mornings on the Castle of Lions had never been the most conventional, but waking up to a stabbing invitation took the cake for the weirdest morning greeting yet. What was even weirder was the red paper that it was on, with hearts of every color dotting every inch of parchment.

He walked the slip of paper to his table, where two similar pieces of paper lay. The color schemes were identical, but the 'messages' were different.

The first one read, " _Careful there; if you keep this up, you're gonna run Cupid out of business"_ , while the second one read, " _If I'm heartless, it's because you stole mine from me!"_

The past two mornings had already been confusing enough for Keith, but at this point, it seemed to be becoming a pattern for him to find a scrap of paper with a message of some sort every morning outside his room.

His eyes darted back and forth as he exited his room to the hallway, as if he would find an answer to whatever was going on. Just as he had the previous days, however, he reached the dining area without any solution to the enigma.

The rest of the paladins were already eating and talking, but his plate was set up for him, so he didn't need to interrupt anybody to sit down to eat. As soon as he'd taken his seat, however, Lance ended up dropping into the chair next to him, leaning against the table with an enthusiastic smile.

"Hey, Keith! How's your morning been?"

He couldn't help but wince as Lance practically shouted in his ear; the boy's volume and energy made him jump even when he'd been expecting it. Still, he returned the smile.

"I just woke up."

Lance chuckled and waved his statement off as the others chatted among themselves, leaving the two of them to converse. "No, of course, I know that. I just...uh, never mind. So, guess you arrived last today!" He shot Keith a finger gun, and for whatever reason, that single gesture suddenly brought images of those strange messages to Keith's mind.

"Have you been writing weird poems?" He blurted out.

"Wha?" Lance backed up in his seat a bit before looking up casually. "Uh, I mean, why do you ask?"

Keith rose an eyebrow as he scanned Lance and rose his fork to his mouth. "Because. If you are, you've been accidentally dropping them and they've been ending up in front of my room."

Thinking about it now, something about those messages, or 'poems' as he'd chosen to call them, seemed to resemble Lance. They were both confusing, random, and used inviting words...not to mention they both looked pretty. As far as everyone else knew, though, that trait was specific to the paper.

"What are you talking about, Keith? Who even writes poems, nowadays? Not me!" Lance gave Keith a laugh that almost seemed to burst with color, which only bombarded his head with even more images of the rainbow hearts on the papers...but those images were quickly replaced as he stared at Lance's smile, his cheeks turned upward and eyes squinted in amusement. Hearing and watching him laugh lifted Keith's heart every time.

Then, when he stopped laughing and just stared back at Keith, he got even more lost in his smile. There must've been something about Lance today, because Keith didn't usually go around losing his brain every time he looked at him, though it did happen occasionally, but this was ridiculous.

"Keith?" Lance questioned, grinning as Keith's cheeks grew a shade darker.

He was forced to glance back at his plate. "Sorry. I mean, whatever you say."

He focused on his breakfast from there, mostly just listening to Lance while he explained some strange dream he'd apparently had about heart-shaped meteorites running into the castle. Of course, that only made Keith think about the hearts on the papers, and suddenly his mind was way more occupied with those things than it had been the previous two days, but he did his best to shut it out to give Lance his attention. Well, Lance and his food, since it didn't seem to be a good idea to focus completely on Lance right now, either.

While listening and eating, though, he couldn't help but briefly glance over the rest of his teammates as they chatted amongst each other; Pidge with Hunk and Shiro with Coran and Allura. Lance had claimed he wasn't the culprit behind the strange messages, which meant it had to be one of them...most likely Coran, Pidge, or Hunk...or it was an enemy. But any of those three probably wouldn't hesitate to pull a prank on him, and if it was Pidge or Hunk, they could even be in on it together...

 _Why am I thinking about this still?!_

He frustratedly tightened his grip around his fork and turned to give Lance his full attention; watching his lips move at lightning speed was better than torturing himself with those weird messages.

Breakfast successfully carried on without any more annoyances…

...but by the end of it, he swore Lance was much closer than he had been at the beginning of breakfast.

* * *

Sweat flickered from Keith's hair, black locks waving slightly as he ducked beneath the gladiator robot's staff and kicked its legs out from beneath it. His clothes were feeling increasingly heavier after two hours of fighting, though, and by the time he had his sword raised, the droid was spinning itself back to its feet for a counterattack.

He parried blow after blow, grunting with each collision between weapons. Then, as soon as an opening appeared, he thrust himself forward, not stopping until the tip of his sword came out the other end of the bot.

It was then that the words from this morning came back to him.

" _I can be the handle to your sword, or I can 'handle' your 'sword'~"_

His muscles tensed up in annoyance as he stared at his blade, eyes traveling up the handle that he was holding...god, why was he so stuck on those messages?! They didn't even make sense! And it made even less sense that he was remembering them now...just because of the word 'sword'.

He tore his blade out to the side, ripping the gladiator in half as his chest heaved, suddenly feeling the full exertion of his fighting. Despite that, though, his eyes stayed glued to his sword with the message from that morning in mind. He deactivated his bayard with a grunt of frustration.

As soon as he looked up, dark-grey eyes met blue as he locked gazes with Lance through the window, head clearing up instantaneously.

At first Lance looked like he was about to walk away, but they stared at each other longer until a silent agreement was reached.

Keith walked to a bench in the room as Lance entered with his hands in his pockets, glancing from Keith to the demolished robot and back again with a whistle.

"Hey! I was, uh, just passing by. Impressive as always, samurai. What level are you on now?"

"Thirteen," he replied, sighing and wiping at his forehead sweat as Lance sat at the opposite end of the bench.

"Quiznak, you look...really worked out. That's my polite way of saying you're sweaty and disgusting and I'm staying on my end of the bench."

Keith wrinkled his nose in amusement and grabbed his jacket from the floor to fan himself. "Is it still polite if you went ahead and said what you really meant anyway?"

Lance waved him off as if he were being preposterous. "Of course it is! It's just polite _and_ honest now! Best of both worlds!"

They both chuckled at that as Keith propped a leg up onto the bench and looked Lance over. He was always saying clever things like that...or sometimes not-so-clever things—it really varied when it came to Lance. Either way, he knew a lot of phrases and taglines that sometimes didn't make sense to Keith.

"...'I can be the handle to your sword, or I can handle your sword'. What does that mean?" He hesitated for a second to ask, but if it was going to be stuck on his mind so much, he might as well look for an answer. When he looked up, though, Lance's face had gone dark cherry, and he seemed to be speechless for once despite his mouth gaping wide open.

Keith tilted his head. Had he just said something strange? Maybe Lance needed an explanation?

"I just saw it somewhere and thought it made no sense. I mean, no one can 'be a handle'. You seem like you would understand this type of thing, so…"

"Why would I know?" Lance coughed suddenly, arms crossed over his chest. "I thought I told you already, I'm not writing poems!"

Keith rose an eyebrow. "I...I never mentioned poems."

A shiver visibly travelled up Lance's sides before he stiffened and coughed some more, fingers tapping against his crossed arms. "Uh...yeah. Of course not."

"...alright." Keith let it go at that, mainly because Lance was acting so weird about it, and pushed himself to his feet to stretch in preparation for another round against the gladiator. Lance still seemed unstable, so he turned to him as he armed his bayard. "Hey, maybe you should have a go at the gladiator? I mean, a fight might help you deal with...whatever that is." He gestured to the way he was curled into himself.

Lance's face reddened more before he stood up, clearing his throat several times before breaking away from his shaky state to raise an eyebrow. "Are you inviting me to train with you, then, samurai?"

Keith's lips curled up. That was more like the Lance he knew.

"'Samurai'? Same nickname within five minutes? You're losing your touch."

"Oh shut it, sir killjoy. I'll grab my bayard and be back in a tick." He stepped forward to flick Keith's hair, gasping and jumping back as soon as he did so. "Still sweaty! Gross!"

Keith scowled, hand on his hip. "If that's the case, then maybe don't touch my hair." Not that he actually minded, but he had to at least pretend he did.

Lance snorted as he began backing up towards the door. "Don't act all offended—I was just being honest!"

"What happened to ' _polite_ and honest'?" Keith challenged.

"Hey, don't use my own reasoning against me! Besides, that was the Lance of five minutes ago! I'm a changed man now! I've learned from my mistakes!" He stuck his tongue out, and Keith had to wait until Lance had officially exited the room before he broke into laughter, sitting back against the bench so he could grip his sides. He hadn't even begun fighting again yet, yet his heart was already pounding against his chest.

 _Lance himself is a work out._ He couldn't help but snicker at that thought before hoisting himself back to his feet to start before Lance got back. As a new gladiator bot dropped down from the ceiling, he wondered what face Lance would make when he saw Keith starting without him. Would he be annoyed? Comically outraged?

...impressed?

He did a double take on himself there, heart jumping. The gladiator jumped too, taking his brief moment of confusion to strike.

His breath left him for a split second as the shadow enveloped him, but before he could be sent tumbling across the floor, a loud laser sounded from his left, and the gladiator jumped away from him before backflipping several yards back.

"What're you doing, letting it hit you?" Lance scolded, bayard raised in front of his shoulder from the doorway.

Keith meant to answer, but his voice ended up catching in his throat just at the sight of Lance with his bayard raised in his normal clothing. Normally he was in his paladin armor while shooting, but the casual clothing seemed to add something to the weapon that made him seem even more badass. Like, maybe casually badass, or—

"Hey, mullet! I know I'm attractive, but maybe save your drooling for when there isn't a level 14 robot after your head!" Lance shouted, shooting several more times as the gladiator once again tried closing the distance towards him.

He wanted to gawk for just a little longer over the fact that Lance had been the one to show off despite Keith starting early, but he really was making himself look lame, so he positioned himself into a fighting stance and parried the gladiator's next blow before jumping to where Lance had run in.

"You sure you haven't been training for too long? You seem out of it." Lance questioned.

His concern was appreciated, but Keith didn't have time to answer as the gladiator rushed them. He slashed its nimble form several times before locking his sword against its staff, keeping it in place.

No words were needed as Lance shot its head and sent the mighty robot crashing down, and only after its glowing eye faded did both boys drop their arms to their sides, panting.

"That was definitely level 14, alright...man that thing does not move like a human…"

"That's because it _isn't_ human." Keith pointed out, sword supporting him like a walking stick as Lance threw his bayard over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay sure, but what was that? It's not like you to get so caught off guard. You should relax, and maybe go eat something sweet so you feel better."

It was Keith's turn to raise an eyebrow. "What? But I—"

"Nope! I'm already leaving, meaning you have to leave, too!" Lance walked back towards the door despite having just arrived, patting Keith's shoulder as he passed him just to shriek. "Quiznak, sweaty!"

Keith pouted at Lance telling him what to do, but he couldn't help but stifle a snicker at that as Lance waved with the back of his hand and exited the training area. He paused with the door still open, though, as if thinking something over.

"...about that line, earlier. Think of the 'sword' as something dirtier, and you'll probably get it." With that, he left without waiting to hear another word.

"Dirtier?" Keith glanced down at his sword before huffing and tilting his head at the door. Lance could be just as enigmatic as those weird messages, sometimes.

He considered ignoring his orders to call out for another match against the gladiator, but decided against it and disarmed his bayard, grabbing his jacket on the way to the door to fan himself.

As soon as the door opened, however, he noticed a piece of red paper on the floor, accompanied by what appeared to be a chocolate candy.

"What…?" He picked both up and turned the paper around, examining both sides before reading the golden words that were written there.

" _Chocolate is nowhere near as sweet as you~"_

He glanced down the hallway both ways cautiously, sweaty hair standing on end. Lance had just been here...but he'd said the weird papers weren't his. So unless he was lying, this had been left for Keith right after Lance had left.

His grip on his bayard tightened as he hurried down to the shower room, stuffing the message in his pocket. Before he stored the chocolate, though, he looked over the outer wrapper. It had been a while since he'd seen Earth chocolate like this, after all. Or, to be more specific…

 _White Chocolate?_

* * *

As soon as he finished drying himself off from his shower (with the exception of his hair, which took longer to dry), Keith rushed to Shiro's room and barged in without so much as a knock.

"Keith?" Shiro didn't even have to look up or move from his bed to know it was him.

"Shiro, I think you should see this." He pulled out the latest message and thrust it in front of Shiro's face, chocolate candy in his other hand. "I think it could be a message of some sort, or something. What do you think?"

HIs lips were pressed firmly together as he watched Shiro blink, waiting for an epiphany of some sort to strike him. Perhaps it wasn't enough evidence?

"Listen, this is the fourth one I've seen in just the last few days. And this time, it came with this!" He offered the chocolate as solid proof and reread the paper himself as Shiro scratched the back of his head.

"...isn't this just a catchphrase or something?"

"Okay, but what does it _mean_?" Keith showed him the paper again, but Shiro just looked past it at Keith, brow sweating.

"Keith, I think it's just trying to say what it says. That you're sweeter than chocolate."

Keith's eyes narrowed, gaze shifting from the paper to the chocolate to Shiro. "Why would it be saying that?"

Shiro sighed and began lying back down. "Well, it's a pretty Lance-like thing to say, it shouldn't be too surpri—" He stopped before his back was against the mattress so his body looked like it was frozen in the middle of a sit-up, and he got noticeably stiffer altogether, but Keith just stuffed the chocolate back in his pocket with a raised eyebrow.

"I already asked Lance if he was dropping these weird things, but he said they weren't his doing. Unless he was lying...or...has somebody infiltrated the castle?!"

Shiro's pursed his lips at Keith pointedly, as if it was his turn to wait for an epiphany to strike him. When Keith just kept staring back, though, he gave a heavy sigh.

"...I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, Keith. It's probably harmless fun, really."

"But—"

"How about this; if it comes up again and it's...weird...which it very well could get weird...then you can come to me again. Okay?" Before Keith could protest, Shiro finally collapsed back on his bed, as if he'd been waiting to do that for hours even though he'd just gotten up when Keith arrived.

Keith had no choice but to cross his arms and dip his head compliantly. "...fine."

When he didn't leave, Shiro peeked back up. "Did you know Valentine's Day is coming up? According to Pidge's Earth calendar, anyways. It's in less than a week."

His ears perked, but other than that, he shrugged.

"...maybe you should think about getting something for Lance."

"What?!" Keith exploded instantly, fire catching to his face as he stomped his foot. "That's...why would I…?! Why are you bringing Lance up again?!"

Shiro just rose an eyebrow at him as Keith hurried out the door before he could answer him.

"...I'll come get you if anything weird happens, like you said."

He could only breathe again once he was outside of Shiro's room, leaning against the wall as sweat fell from his forehead.

 _Valentine's Day...Lance…_

He bit his bottom lip. It wasn't like he was trying to hide his feelings...Shiro's suggestion that he do something about them was simply impossible, though.

 _Simply impossible._

* * *

" _You make my heart melt, because you're so hot~"_

Keith stared at the paper with lines under his eyes, a small, chocolate heart in his other hand. _White chocolate_ —just like from yesterday. There was hardly any need to sit and ponder over these items; Shiro had already told him what to do.

He shoved both the paper and chocolate into one of his pockets before fast-walking to the dining area with stiff legs. As soon as the doors opened for him, he shouted Shiro's name, drawing the attention of the other paladins, who were all seated around the table as Hunk set up breakfast.

"Keith?" Shiro scooted his chair back to stand as Keith slammed his hands down on the table directly across from him.

"Shiro, I found another one!" He revealed the paper for everyone to look at. "It's happened too many times to be coincidence at this point. We should check the castle's cameras—"

Pidge interrupted him with a yawn, and even Shiro sank back into his chair as Hunk continued setting up the table, as if doing whatever he could to avoid the conversation.

"...how about Coran and I go over the cameras to check?" Shiro offered after a solid half-minute of silence. Keith suspected he was only trying to appease him. Still, it was better than nothing.

"Alright. Let me come—"

" _After_ breakfast."

"Speaking of breakfast, let's eat now!" Hunk added, dusting his hands together at the finished table.

Keith stared at the rest of his team in disbelief as they quickly began reaching across the table to eat, as if they had completely forgotten everything he'd said.

As if they were avoiding it on purpose.

His eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he relented and took his own seat off to the side to observe each paladin. Only then did he notice one of them was missing...and said person was rising up on Keith's list of suspicions...

As if on cue, the casanova himself came through the doors in his blue robe. Keith would've been taken aback by his natural beauty just like he was every morning, but despite the usual brilliant glow of his skin, Lance's eyes were slitted with exhaustion, and his hair was unnaturally unkempt— _especially_ for Lance.

"Are...you okay?" Keith couldn't think of anything else to say; his suspicions were completely forgotten in favor of concern for the boy who yawned and dropped into the chair next to him, arms hanging at his sides like noodles.

"I'm...fine…" Lance interrupted himself with a yawn before tossing Keith a thumbs up, accompanied with a signature Lance grin. It would've been somewhat charming if the skin beneath Lance's eyes weren't so dark.

Keith had half a mind to reach out to comfort Lance, though he had no clue how or why that idea would occur to him. He didn't even like physical contact...but if it was for Lance…

He swallowed hard and clasped his fingers together while attempting to mirror Lance's smile. "If you say so. Uh, if you do need something, though…"

"Yeah, don't worry about it!" Lance assured.

They both chuckled awkwardly, unable to exit their conversation, like the rest of the room didn't exist. They couldn't look away from each other, either; or at least, Keith couldn't. Not until Lance looked away first, which he eventually did, but only thanks to a yawn.

He gestured with his head towards Keith's right side. "Actually, could you maybe pass me a cup of that space juice? Think it could do some good waking me up."

Keith was pretty sure 'space juice' wasn't a technical term, but he didn't have a comeback ready, so he grabbed the cup for Lance wordlessly.

When Lance reached for the cup, however, he ended up grabbing Keith's hand instead, sending a rush of heat to Keith's face as he turned stone solid, as if Lance's touch was Medusa.

"L-Lance…" His voice was much breathier than normal, but he couldn't help it. His chest was rising and falling in massive, slow crests despite the rapid beating of his heart, and in a way, that just made it even worse—he could feel every pulse in his chest. Still, no matter how red his face got, he couldn't move away.

Lance turned to look at their hands before they made eye contact, as if he didn't realize what was going on; the red on Keith's face spread almost instantly.

"Quiznak!" Lance backed up from Keith as they managed to tear their hands away from each other, and Keith would have laughed at the way Lance nearly fell out of his chair if it wasn't for his own embarrassment.

Suddenly they were both avoiding looking at each other, and Keith was discovering that he did _not_ like making physical contact with Lance...at least, not like this. Not when it made him combust from the inside out. Maybe there was just something wrong with him…

"So." Lance coughed awkwardly and scooted back over to where Keith was. His yawning had stopped, though he still slouched against the table.

Even from his peripheral vision, Keith could tell Lance's face was still slightly red. His face was still felt red, too.

"Thanks for the cup." Lance rose the cup in a cheer of some sort before shooting Keith straight in the heart with a wink, somehow able to transition back to his typical self.

"You're...welcome…" Keith glanced back down at his hand, where Lance's fingers had held his knuckles just seconds earlier. He could still feel it…

He swallowed hard and looked back up, only for his eyes to lock onto Lance's smile. There definitely had to be something wrong with him...if he was going to go red just by looking at Lance, then he needed to get out of here and sort himself out...

"Enjoy breakfast, guys." He stood up and briefly glanced at the other paladins, who all seemed to be eyeing him and Lance out of the corners of their eyes. Then, before any of them—specifically Lance—could say anything, he darted out of the dining room, fanning himself with his hand.

For whatever reason, just thinking about Lance rekindled his memory of the paper he'd found this morning.

 _You make my heart melt, because you're so hot._

* * *

Keith had gone from embarrassed to stressed within the mere span of five seconds thanks to Lance, but a warm, morning shower had his heart rate back to normal now. His hair still dripped with water as he pulled a towel around his waist tightly and exited the shower room with a sigh. He hadn't had even a bite of breakfast before leaving...maybe Hunk would save something for him? Or better yet, maybe Hunk would make something else for him? Whatever he did, Keith would probably have to wait until after their mission to find something to eat.

 _It's Lance's fault,_ he grumbled to himself. When he glanced at the hand that Lance had touched again, though, his breath caught in his throat, and he had to cross his arms to hide his hands. _Great...now I can't even look at my hand without thinking about it…_

Things could get ugly if his stupid feelings interfered with their missions...should he talk to Shiro about it? Was it even worth talking to Shiro about, or was he just blowing things out of proportion? He wanted to pull at his hair in frustration...but before he could drive himself up a wall with his dilemma, he saw a paper just in front of his room.

His rapidly beating heart dropped into his stomach as he rushed forward and snatched up the paper and chocolate, grimacing and looking every which way for any sign of suspicious activity. Only once he'd decided he wasn't in immediate danger did he read over the newest message.

" _You're like a burning skillet; one small touch makes me hot, hot, hot~"_

Keith's fingers subconsciously moved to the hand Lance had touched as the words made _him_ hot, hot, hot. He didn't know for sure if this was Lance, and Lance himself had denied knowing anything about these weird occurrences, but...if it was Lance...what was he implying?

 _It's best not to assume._ He quickly entered his room and left the paper and chocolate with all the others he'd collected up to this point before throwing on some clothes. There was no more time to waste; he _needed_ to get to the bottom of this.

He was prepared to scour the entire castle in search of Coran, but as fate would have it, he was met with an orange mustache as soon as he turned the corner.

Coran cried out in alarm as Keith immediately fell into a battle stance, blade already in hand and ready to strike when he noticed it wasn't an intruder.

"Coran. I was just looking for you."

"I thought you might be; that's why I came to your room." Coran twiddled with his mustache, as if that helped calm him down from their sudden run in. "Anyways, Shiro and I checked the castle's cameras; specifically around your room. We didn't notice anything strange, so, uh, looks like you're just being paranoid, like usual!"

Keith's eyebrow twitched at that. "...okay, but that isn't possible. Those papers ended up in front of my room somehow; things don't just appeared out of thin air!"

Coran held a hand up to intervene. "Well, the cameras certainly didn't catch anything! Perhaps you dreamed it all up! Or something. Anyways, we depart for planet Reiphod in just under a varga, so you'd best prepare for that! Right then, see you at the bridge, young paladin!" He saluted quickly before rushing down the hallway.

"'Dreamed it all up'?" Keith muttered as his eyes followed Coran. The advisor often times made no sense, but even this was a little strange for his whimsical advice.

There was no way that paper wasn't placed in front of his door; even on an Altean castleship that could sometimes seem haunted, that type of thing didn't just happen consecutively four days in a row. Whatever the case, Keith would have to go out of his own way to find the answer...with a little help, of course.

* * *

The mission on Reiphod was mostly a clean up mission of the remaining Galra forces scattered throughout the planet, but the civil unrest that occurred with the sudden demolition of the Galra administration left the citizens in tatters. As such, they ended up spending hours on the planet dealing with diplomacy and sorting out a foundation for their leadership. Naturally, Keith didn't have much to do other than stand guard and confirm every ten minutes or so that Voltron would have their back. He may pilot the Black Lion, but Allura and Shiro were the political diplomats.

By the time they were done with their dealings for the day, they were all just slumping into their respective seats at the dinner table.

"Man, I'm pooped...after we eat, I think I'm just gonna kick back in my room, maybe play video games for a while," Lance said, with Pidge glaring at him pointedly at the mention of _her_ video games. Keith, on the other hand, couldn't help but frown.

"Are you sure? You've looked sort of tired lately...shouldn't you consider sleeping?"

Lance did a double take on Keith as Hunk set a plate of food down in front of them, blinking a few times as if confirming if he'd heard him right. Then, his lips morphed into a cat-like smirk. "Aww, you getting worried about me, Mr. Bed Hair?"

Keith's face immediately flushed red with both frustration and embarrassment. Frustration because Lance had to turn everything into a way to tease him, and embarrassment because, what if he was worried?

"I was just suggesting...it's been a long day; sleep would do us all some good."

"Hypocrite." Pidge scoffed.

He turned to her in shock, but immediately realized what she was talking about. Indeed, despite the long day, he wasn't planning to do much sleeping tonight…

"Enough. Pidge, no looking for excuses to stay up; everyone should get some sleep after they eat." Shiro ended the conversation, much to Keith's appreciation.

* * *

As soon as they all separated to their rooms, Keith set up the hidden camera that Pidge had made for him just before their mission on Reiphod. While it wasn't probable, the castle cameras could have just missed the person behind the messages. Pidge's camera wouldn't fail him, though. Not only would it record the entire night, but it broadcasted a live feed to another camera he had. Any movement or source of heat would be detected as soon as it happened. He would catch the culprit tonight. Now, it was just a waiting game.

While he assumed the papers and chocolates were being placed during late sleeping hours since he never came across them during late night showers, he wasn't taking any chances. For multiple hours, he sat in front of the broadcasting camera on his bed, watching the ground in front of his room just in case the paper and chocolate really did magically appear.

Pretty soon, he heard Shiro, Coran, and Allura shouting their goodnights to each other from in the castle. Then, it was all quiet.

His adrenaline was already rushing as he pictured multiple scenarios in his head. What if it was an intruder? He would have to detain them and wake up the rest of the paladins. If it was a Galra? That'd mean information about their castle would probably already be with the Empire by now. A prank? Well...Keith would just be annoyed, then—especially if Pidge was the one pranking him, since she'd supplied the cameras to catch the culprit in the first place.

The camera suddenly began focusing as a figure came into view on screen, ending his speculation as he peered into it and stood up, hand finding its way to his knife hilt. In the heat vision broadcast, he could make out the petite form of the culprit. They were incredibly small...and not humanoid…

 _Oh._ It was Chulatt—one of the space mice. But...what was it doing?

He walked to his door, but stayed just outside of it so as not to scare the smallest mouse away. He always had a feeling there was something more to those mice, whether it be something sinister or not...Chulatt especially tended to give Keith chills every now and then simply because she was the smallest of the four.

 _What is she up to?_

The blue mouse stopped just outside his door, prompting him to arm himself with his knife. His adrenaline was shooting through the roof, now. What was he supposed to do? Confront the mouse? Would there have to be an interrogation? Was this Allura's doing, or did Chulatt the mouse have other intentions?

Before he could make a decision, Chulatt darted off, leaving Keith seething at himself. He was Voltron's leader, but the mouse had managed to throw him off enough until he couldn't settle on a decision on time...Chulatt was truly a worthy adversary.

Another glance at the screen, however, showed that there was no message or chocolate left behind. Chulatt hadn't left anything behind; she had just...left.

His shoulders began dropping, though the grip on his knife refused to loosen. _What is going on…?_

Before he could investigate, another figure suddenly appeared on his camera; one that was distinctly more human.

Keith immediately resumed a tight battle stance, eyes flickering as they bent down to place what appeared to be two small items; a paper and a chocolate.

If he'd learned anything from his short-lived psychological warfare with Chulatt the mouse, it was that hesitation would do him no good here; he needed to act if he wanted to reveal the identity of the culprit.

With a brief but firm battle cry, he charged forward once he opened his door. The shout didn't give his attack away; not when his opponent was pinned to the wall half a second later.

"Who are you?! What do you want?!"

"What the fu—"

"Answer me!" Keith spat, raising his knife, only to be met with a familiar high-pitched scream.

"Keith, wait a minute, hold up, who goes around raising a knife just like that?! Let's calm down!"

He blinked several times in an attempt to adjust to the darkness outside of his room as the figure slowly pulled their hoodie down.

"...Lance?" Sometimes, it seemed the most obvious answer was the correct answer.

"Don't 'Lance?' me! You can stop pinning me now! Or, I mean...unless you're into this. Because I can be into it if you're into it. Just saying."

"Lance!" He repeated, pulling away and looking him over with a raised eyebrow. "You...you said it wasn't you!"

He dusted himself off even though his clothes definitely wouldn't have gotten dirty just from a small shove from Keith. "Well yeah, I said no to your question, but to be fair, your question was stupid, so I wasn't lying." Once he was clean, he met Keith's grimacing face with a smirk, hand on his hip. "You asked me if I'd been 'writing weird poems'. What kind of question is that?!" He broke into laughter, clutching his stomach as Keith's face grew hot.

"You know what I meant! I was asking if...you were the cause of _those_!" He pointed at the paper in Lance's hand.

"Well, that's not what you said. 'Poems'..." He broke off his laughter to lean a shoulder towards Keith, eyebrow raised. "Not that I'm complaining, since you're calling my pick up lines 'poetry'."

Keith took a step back, 'fight or flight' reflexes kicking in as he grabbed his own arm with a gulp. "What...what are you talking about? 'Pick up lines'? I thought those were things that you say to other people…"

Lance paused, as if waiting for some sort of epiphany to strike Keith, but when an awkward silence ensued he just sighed and slumped forward.

"Are you kidding me? What have I gotten myself mixed up in...look, don't think so lowly of pick up lines! They can be spoken, written, and I mean, I even delivered pick up lines in morse code once for a girl in middle school! Honestly, how new can you be to the romance game to think that pick up lines are limited to being delivered by word of mouth?"

Keith backed up more, intimidated yet also slightly enchanted by Lance's passion for the topic, but he couldn't get over one specific line.

"'Romance game'?"

It was Lance's turn to have his face go red, but Keith wanted answers now.

He took a step forward. "Is that what the papers...the...pick up lines...were?"

"..."

"Lance?"

"...yes. Obviously. What else would they be for?!" He rose his voice suddenly, as if to make up for his blushing face. Naturally, that just spread the red to Keith's face.

"...why?"

"'Why'?!" Lance shuffled his hands in his hair. "You know, it's already surprisingly hard to admit it in person, you're not helping by being so oblivious…!" He poked his finger against Keith's chest, eyes narrowed "I. Like. You! Why else would I be doing this?!"

Keith's eyes widened, and he practically fell over himself as he backed up all over again. His heart was pounding fast, his breaths were escaping fast, and this entire situation was just moving so _fast_.

Lance seemed to sink into himself while still stepping forward to exert himself, until he was an awkward mix of contrasting nerves. "So...what about you? I mean, I guess you don't necessarily need to say anything back, just...do you accept it?" He offered the newest paper and chocolate forward, and Keith wasn't sure if he was asking whether Keith accepted the gift, his confession, or both.

Of course, Keith knew his answer and had known it for a very long time, had imagined this moment for a very long time, but now that it came to it, he could only swallow hard and slowly reach to accept the gifts.

The paper looked the same as all the other ones, but this time, it read, " _If you can free a planet from the Galra, then maybe you can free my heart from your cage~"_.

"Too bad you caught me...I mean, I guess it's easier this way, but still, it was fun watching you stress out over these while it lasted."

Keith rose an eyebrow. "Stress out? I never stressed out! Besides, I was always suspicious of you, and had I received this one anonymously, I probably would've definitively figured it out. 'Free a planet from the Galra'? Did you write this today?"

"Don't make fun of my pick up lines! I did not write it today! In fact I have all of them written out beforehand already!"

Keith's face flushed all over again. "'All of them'? How many of these do you have?"

Lance crossed his arms. "You'll just have to find out. Also, before you make fun of my poems, read them properly! It says something about 'freeing my heart'; aren't you supposed to think that's sweet, or something?"

"Don't change subjects!"

"I'm not! Why are we arguing in the middle of the night in the middle of the halway?!"

"I don't know!" Keith exasperated. "I'm not the one who snuck out of his room at night! I mean...what are you doing this for?"

Lance's glare pierced straight through him, and Keith was quick to raise his arms defensively, face lighting up the darkness with its bright red color.

"N-no! I...I know you said it was because you liked me...but doesn't this seem a little random? To suddenly start leaving me things like this...I'm not rejecting them or anything, but…why?"

Lance huffed for the hundredth time that night. "Haven't you ever heard of 'valentines'?"

" _Did you know Valentine's Day is coming up?"_

Shiro's words resonated in the back of Keith's head as he stared down at the heart-shaped chocolate that had accompanied the pick up line. Together, the paper and the chocolate made a valentine gift…

His heart was suddenly throbbing in overdrive, and he didn't dare look up past Lance's stomach for fear of exploding.

"...but, it isn't even Valentine's Day yet…" _Good going; you haven't even accepted his confession yet._

"Just because it isn't Valentine's Day doesn't mean I can't give you these things, right?" Lance chuckled nervously, and Keith died a bit on the inside. It was clear as day that Lance was being vulnerable, what with his confession and all, and here Keith was, peppering him with questions…

Before he could ask another one, Lance rose a finger.

"I'll have you know that every day is a perfectly fine day to show affection; Valentine's Day just so happens to be a very good excuse to go all out!" He leaned towards Keith with a wink, somehow still smiling. "And believe me, I plan on going all out. It is a bummer that you found me, but at least now I can do this more officially!" Lance cleared his throat, holding his hand out. "So, Keith, would you accompany me on a Valentine's Day date? I promise it'll be the best day you ever have!"

Keith didn't doubt that for a second, and yet, he still hesitated to take Lance's hand. He longed for it, and he knew he longed for it, but...something was still holding him back, like a coil tightened around his muscles. Willpower alone pushed him to reach forward, but the moment their fingertips touched, he stopped.

"...I'll accompany you, Lance."

Lance's face lit up in a genuine smile, fingers creeping forward along Keith's as he awaited more.

Keith didn't know what else to say. There were so many things for him to add; he knew Lance wanted to hear him accept or at least address his confession more, but he didn't know how to say it…

As the silence sunk in, Lance's smile faltered, and his hand slowly pulled away from Keith's. His smile never broke completely, though, and Keith found himself staring at him and screaming at himself, _I like him, I do, I need to say it._ But how was he supposed to say such simple words that he had barely ever used for as long as he'd been alive?

"...great! Okay! I'm glad!" Lance backed up, probably to give Keith space. "See you tomorrow morning, then! And don't worry, I'll have the date all planned out!"

He turned to leave, and only when he saw Lance's shoulders slump did Keith find the courage to call out.

"Lance!"

Lance turned over his shoulder, hands in his pocket. It was such a simple scene, and yet the lack of a smile on his face was enough to make Keith's chest ache, because it was _his_ fault.

 _You have to get it right. Just accept his feelings. 'I like you too'. It's that easy._

"Um…" He took several deep breaths, as if to psyche himself into it. Instead, more sweat just accumulated on his forehead, and when he locked eyes with Lance, he lost it. "...what were you doing with Chulatt?"

He hated himself so much.

Lance rose an eyebrow and turned around fully. "Chulatt? You mean the small mouse? That guy usually gives me the cold shoulder, honestly. Platt and I get along way more."

They stared at each other for a few awkward seconds before suddenly erupting into laughter, though it was mostly on Lance's side. Keith joined in for the sake of it; his stomach was churning too much for him to commit to laughing seriously, though. Still, if it put a smile on Lance's face, then he wasn't as mortified for having asked such a stupidly random question.

"Catch you later, bud!" Lance winked before turning and waving with the back of his hand.

"Yeah. Later." Keith watched Lance walk away before smacking his forehead. Twice.

 _Chulatt? Really?_

He glanced down at the chocolate heart in his palm with a sigh, slipping back into his room and leaning against the wall. He turned to look at the array of valentines on his table, and suddenly his heart sank into his chest even more.

He was awful at this, and the more he thought about how he'd practically ignored Lance's confession, the more his heart twisted with agony. And if this was how he felt…

 _How does Lance feel?_

* * *

 **Wanna keep up with my writing, or do you just want to interact with me and ask questions and read my Voltron-related content? Follow me on Tumblr; link is on my profile! I would LOVE to mingle with you all!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Valentine's Day is finally here, and so is the date between Keith and Lance! But something is off about Lance, and the day doesn't seem to be going at all how either of them had hoped...is Valentine's Day a bust for them, or can they work things out?**

* * *

Mornings on the Castle of Lions had never been the most conventional, but that didn't always mean they were bad. For the past few days, Keith had woken up to pick up lines and chocolates that he now knew to be from Lance, and as strange as it was, he found himself continuing his collection of them with an iron refusal to eat them. He could handle confusing mornings; however, waking up to Lance screaming his name and pounding on his door was nothing short of a headache.

He slid out of his bed, blanket dragging around his waist as he opened his door to glare at Lance through tired eyes. "What does the princess want? Is it an emergency mission?"

Lance rose an eyebrow and extended a paper and chocolate towards him. "The princess? This isn't an alarm, I'm just waking you up because you were taking too long! Honestly, aren't I supposed to be the heavy sleeper?"

"We don't have a mission today, so I was going to sleep—" He cut himself off as he glanced at the valentine Lance was offering. Realization dawned on him all at once as Lance beamed.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Keith! 'You light the fire to my heart'!" He recited the pick up line on the paper, as though to save Keith the trouble in case he was too tired to read.

Keith barely had time to accept the chocolate before Lance grabbed his wrist and began hauling him out of his room.

"Hurry! We've got a big date planned after breakfast, remember? We shouldn't waste a second of it!"

"Wait!" Keith dug his heels into the floor, heart spiking at the mention of the date—and at the contact between their hands. "I...I'll be with you guys in a second. Bathroom." He slipped away from Lance into the nearest bathroom, immediately splashing water into his face and looking into the mirror.

" _Would you accompany me on a Valentine's Day date? I promise it'll be the best day you ever have!"_

His memory of Lance's initial invitation and confession was both so clear yet hazy at the same time...like it had been a dream of some sort. Every time he so much as talked to Lance, though, the inexplicable pounding of his heart always made sure to remind him of the truth...and now, this was really happening.

This was really happening.

 _This is really happening._

He splashed more water onto his face, half-certain his chest would burst if he dwelled on it much longer.

Suddenly, much like Lance, he was rushing to finish up in the bathroom to hurry to breakfast...and then after that...well, Keith didn't even know what to expect.

* * *

"There he is," Pidge whistled, raising both eyebrows as Keith walked into the dining room to see the rest of the paladins gathered around the table. Instead of all being absorbed in their own conversations, though, they were just staring at him—as if they'd been waiting for him.

"...hello?" He cautiously approached and took his seat beside Lance, and with his head properly awake now, he couldn't help but notice the darkness beneath Lance's eyes.

"So," Pidge interrupted his observations, leaning against the table. "You and Lance?"

"Pidge, come on…" Hunk cautioned.

Keith's cheeks heated up, and before he could even deny anything, Allura leaned her hands against the table, too.

"I had a feeling!"

"Princess…" Shiro muttered, though he was smiling just as much as the others were.

The sudden attention was making Keith feel significantly smaller, and he was certain he would've just shrunk to mushroom size if Hunk and Shiro didn't glare at Pidge and Allura until they sat back in their seats with coughs. Something about the two of them suddenly seemed strangely identical.

"...okay, but, really. You and Keith?" Hunk seemed much more content with pressuring Lance, to which the others in the room just groaned at.

Increased adrenaline was pumping through Keith's veins as he bit his lower lip and observed each pair of expectant eyes.

"...I don't—"

"Keith, don't even try lying. I had my own screen that broadcasted everything on your camera; I saw everything." Pidge grinned triumphantly as Keith's jaw fell.

"That...that has to count as an invasion of privacy."

She shrugged. "It's _my_ camera, though. Why else do you think I even offered you assistance?"

"I saw everything from the screen, too," Hunk admitted, scratching the back of his head with an innocent smile.

Keith glanced between the two of them and Lance, who looked strangely detached from the conversation. "Did...you guys know about the messages, too?"

Pidge scoffed. "You mean the valentines? Of course we did. Lance couldn't keep his mouth shut about those."

That finally got a scowl out of Lance as Keith turned to Shiro, Allura, and Coran. "Then…?"

Shiro smiled nervously. "Sorry, Keith. Yeah, I knew all along. Lance told me."

Keith felt like his entire world was a lie. As he turned to Allura, though, he didn't even need to ask anything—the answer was sitting on her shoulder in the form of a small blue mouse.

"Chulatt." His eyes narrowed as the mouse blinked at him innocently.

Allura brought her hand up for Chulatt to jump into. "Yes...actually, the mice see most of the things that happen around the castle and relay them back to me. It's rather convenient since I can keep tabs on all...you…" She trailed off when she noticed everyone looking at her and the mice with disturbed eyes.

"...the princess was the most invasive one of all of us." Pidge muttered.

"What? 'Invasive'?" Allura protested as the other paladins just nodded with Pidge.

Shiro could smell an argument from a mile away and rose his hands. "Alright, we should probably eat. Keith, Lance, you have permission to go on your...trip...together."

"It's a _date_." Lance winked at Keith, finalizing Keith's decision to avoid looking at Lance for as long as breakfast went on. His heart really was going to burst if Lance kept being...Lance.

Surviving their date seemed like it would be an impossible feat at this rate.

* * *

"Alright Red, yip-yip! That's an _Avatar the Last Airbender_ reference, by the way." Lance grinned at Keith as Red shot out of her hangar.

"Do you always say that? Red must be tired of it by now..." Keith gulped, unimpressed by his own insult. He couldn't help it though—his heart was out of control, and not knowing where they were going for their 'date' certainly wasn't helping.

"Don't be silly. She...loves it…" A yawn interrupted Lance mid-way through his sentence, immediately drawing Keith's attention to his eyes, which seemed miraculously less dark now.

 _Strange...I swore I saw dark bags earlier, during breakfast._

"Are you feeling okay?"

Lance's face tightened in what appeared to be panic, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and he instead gave Keith a thumbs up. "I'm peachy, dude. Even better with you here, actually."

Keith bit the inside of his mouth, as if that was supposed to help him control his rapidly increasing body temperature. Lance's yawning was completely forgotten as the pilot brought up one of Red's control screens, and before Keith had time to get used to his heart rate, Red was speeding across the universe like a torpedo.

"Quiznak! Lance!" Keith cursed, grabbing onto the back of the seat with one hand while the other secured the communicator in his pocket that Pidge had given him before they left for their date. He honestly suspected it was some way for her to spy on them, but had accepted it anyways.

As accustomed as he was to Red's speed, it was a little different when he wasn't the one steering her, and he found his hold on the seat moving down towards Lance subconsciously. The pilot gasped when his hand found its way to his chestplate, and Red stopped altogether.

The sudden pause sent Keith flying forward, and Lance was quick to grab onto him so he didn't hit his head on Red's controls.

"Red...dammit…" Keith groaned, pulling on Lance harder to stabilize himself. Once he noticed that he was clinging to his armor, though, he was quick to pull away and even quicker to look for a distraction. "Um...she can be sort of annoying sometimes like this, huh?" He knocked on Red's seat as a bit of payback while avoiding Lance's gaze.

Lance rose an eyebrow. "Annoying? Well, I guess, but I think she stopped because we've arrived."

Keith quickly glanced at Red's front screen to see a world of pure blue. Red began descending, and the closer they got, the more recognizable it was as a planet with an ice surface.

 _This is where we're having our date?_ A prickle of confusion creeped into his chest, only for it to fade away as Red plunged through the ice surface and into the water. They were immediately met by a burst of color, rainbow corals sparkling below as strange fishes of varying sizes swam by. Some had two heads, some had heads as their tails, and others didn't even look like fish.

"Wow…" Keith breathed out subconsciously as Lance eyed him with a grin. Then, suddenly, a mermaid appeared right in front of them, prompting Keith's eyes to widen even more. "Is that a…"

"Yup! Come on!" They followed after the mermaid as she twisted around to wave at them while swimming backwards. Lance waved back with a friendly grin—no wink, finger guns, or anything of the sort. For some reason, that made Keith smile and copy him, waving to the mermaid.

The village that greeted them literally took Keith's breath away; it was a giant underwater civilization with houses of rock and coral awaiting them. The largest building rested behind the village and stretched far to either side, matching the width of the rows of houses while standing tall over them. It could only be a palace.

Sure enough, the mermaid lead them straight towards it, where a crowd of other merpeople awaited them. As soon as Red touched ground, Lance was out of his seat and pulling Keith towards Red's mouth with an eager grin.

"Lance! It is a pleasure to see you here again!" The largest mermaid at the front of the crowd exclaimed with open arms as they landed in front of her with a bow. Keith just copied everything Lance did.

"Glad to be here, your majesty! Keith, this is Queen Luxia, matriarch of the Mer village! Queen Luxia, this is Keith, head of Voltron!"

Keith bowed his head once more and offered his hand for a handshake, but the mermaid queen just stared at him in wonder, as if he was performing an ancient ceremony. Only once he bit his lip and stepped back did she take her turn.

"Greetings, Keith. It is a pleasure to have you in my village."

"Here, all are safe and warm!" Lance added/interrupted. Keith honestly wasn't sure which one, but the Queen didn't seem to mind his addition/interruption as a mermaid swam up to them with a coral of some kind.

"The bubble coral will provide all the air we need down here!" Lance explained as a bubble was squeezed out over both their heads. Keith took a moment to observe it in awe before copying Lance and taking off his helmet.

"You couldn't have arrived at a better time. We have only started the festival. Please, join us!" The Queen offered.

"If you say so!" Lance grabbed Keith's wrist and eagerly began swimming towards the palace with enough to power to just pull Keith along through the water. "Thank you, your highness! Come on Keith, let's go enjoy the festival!"

Keith grumbled as they entered the palace to see a plethora of what appeared to be booths scattered throughout the halls. The sight resembled his idea of a festival on Earth, and he couldn't help but feel a bit of nostalgia wash over him as he looked over at Lance...who didn't seem to be taking it in much at all.

"Why don't we eat here!" Lance exclaimed, grabbing Keith once again and pulling him towards a booth.

As well-intentioned as Lance might've been, Keith found himself grumbling at all the wrist-tugging occuring as Lance lifted some type of golden, swirly roll towards him.

"You don't have to worry, it won't brainwash you or anything!" He chuckled at his own joke, though Keith just stared at him and the roll in confusion.

"...we just ate breakfast before we came here, Lance. I think I can skip on the food."

Lance's smile fell at that, and he dropped the roll back on its plate. "Oh. Yeah, you're right. Sorry."

It was unclear whether Lance was apologizing to him or to the mermaid running the booth, but that didn't seem to matter to him as he grabbed Keith's wrist once again and swam in another direction.

Keith bit his lower lip as he watched the back of Lance's head, briefly glancing back at the booth they'd just abandoned. "You know, if you wanted to—"

"Here we are! The Seaweed Forest!" Lance exclaimed, turning to Keith with a renewed smile. Before them was what appeared to be a sea of massive 'seaweed', or at the very least, some sort of green underwater vegetation. Each strand was several times their size, and just looking into the forest made Keith feel like he could feel lost…

"Actually, the correct name for it is the Maika Koi Grove!" A merperson swam down towards them, jumpscaring Keith for a brief second.

"Blum!" Lance greeted with a wave before turning to Keith. "Keith, this is Blumfump! Blumfump, Keith!"

Blumfump waved with one of his tentacle-like arms. "You know, I've heard a lot about you from Lance, but you still aren't how I'd imagined. Perhaps he isn't good at drawing thing—"

"Shhh! _You're_ saying _I'm_ the one who's bad at drawing?" Lance elbowed the merman with a grunt before nervously laughing. "So, anyway, this guy's gonna be our tour guide through the Seaweed Forest!"

"It isn't a—"

"It's a seaweed forest," Lance assured.

Keith rose an eyebrow and glanced past them to the darkness waiting just beyond the large, swaying vegetation.

"Alright, enough waiting. Come on, Keith! This'll be the best date ever! Blumfump, hurry up and do your tour guiding." Lance grabbed Keith's wrist once more and pulled him into the 'seaweed forest' as Blumfump followed, swimming just diagonally above them while spouting off random facts about the vegetation, which was apparently known as 'maika' and not 'seaweed'.

The farther in they swam, the brighter things got—much to Keith's surprise. The darkness he'd seen while looking in seemed to fade around them completely. He could clearly see smaller fishes swimming around them, ducking past the giant green tendrils.

Lance didn't let go of his wrist for a second.

"So, it's pretty incredible, huh?"

"Yeah," Keith agreed, swimming up so he could be side by side with Lance instead of just being dragged around. "I don't know much about aquatic life, so it's cool seeing this stuff up close."

Lance grinned and pointed his thumb at himself. "Oh yeah? Well _I_ know a lot about aquatic life! I could teach you!"

"You sure?" Keith scoffed almost immediately at that. "This is an _alien world_ , Lance. You probably don't know anything about how it functions; that's why Blumfump is here."

Water swirled around them as Blumfump pressed his arms to his face, eyes sparkling. "Really? You mean that?"

Lance groaned. "Blum isn't a certified mer-scientist, so it isn't like he's an expert either."

The merman deflated at that and floated back up to resume his position as tour guide with a much less enthusiastic tone.

Keith eyed Lance, observing the slump of his shoulders as he paddled with his feet. He didn't seem to be biting the bait of Keith's teases.

They laid off conversation for a while and let Blumfump do his thing, describing the fishes around them and how they used the ecosystem of the grove to their advantage. Admittedly, after just a few sentences, it began to seem more like he was just narrating the lives of fishes rather than actually giving them entertaining information.

Eventually, the seaweed, or 'maika', in front of them parted completely, giving way to a massive clearing. There was green all around them, but in this one place in the grove, it was just...clear. The water was visible for at least 100 feet out until it hit the other side of the clearing, where the seaweed started up again.

Patches of rock and pink moss filled the clearing, and the lack of seaweed meant even more light was shining down on the clearing. The pink moss almost seemed to glisten against the rock and the light.

"Wow…" Keith breathed out. He was about to turn to Blumfump to ask about the beautiful scene, but Lance turned him to face him first, holding his wrist in both hands.

"Keith." His voice was strangely serious, immediately sending a shiver up Keith's spine. He could only gulp and nod as Lance looked him straight in the eyes with the light from above shining down on them.

He waited with baited breath, wrist shaking in Lance's hold as Blumfump pretended he wasn't watching them.

Keith waited...he waited so anxiously...waited for Lance to say whatever he had to say, do whatever he was going to do…

...the light kept shining on them…

...and Keith kept waiting…

Lance gave no indication that he had anything to say.

"...um…"

Before Keith could question him, a low bellow sounded from above, turning all of their heads skyward to watch as several fishes swam down into the clearing. The creatures were massive, twice the size of a person with fins that struck through the water powerfully. Each one had a different color design, too, from orange to black and white.

Keith could only watch in awe as the fishes circled the rocks in the clearing before scooping up the pink moss into their mouths.

Blumfump cleared his throat. "What you're seeing here are Maika Koi fish! The grove is named after these creatures because they visit often to feed on the moss that grows—"

"Blumfump?!" Lance shouted, arms gesturing to the beautiful fishes. "What are they doing here? I thought you said all the moss would be cleared out so we wouldn't get interrupted!"

Keith rose an eyebrow, eyes flickering between them as Blumfump bowed his head and began apologizing profusely to Lance.

 _Clear the moss out? Why is he only getting upset now? Didn't he see the moss there before? Or...did he not even look at the clearing when we arrived?_

"Look! There's even more coming now!" Lance exclaimed angrily.

Blumfump was waving his hands around apologetically, but Lance wasn't relenting. Keith frowned at the scene, grabbing Lance's shoulder.

"Lance…!" He lost his voice momentarily when Lance turned to him, revealing dark bags under his eyes that instantly left Keith's heart throbbing. He almost had to pull away in shock, but for Blumfump's sake, he reached down and tugged on Lance's wrist. "It's okay, Lance. Come on."

He didn't have to fight too hard until Lance gave in and let Keith drag him through the water. Once they were a little ways away from Blumfump, Keith turned to look Lance over.

"Are you okay? You don't look okay."

Lance avoided his gaze and rubbed at his eyes, smudging the dark bags with hints of tanness.

Make up. Lance had been using make up of some kind to hide the bags under his eyes.

"...maybe we should head back to the castle."

"What?" Lance perked up suddenly, rubbing his eyes harder. "No, no, I'm fine! I'm just...let's go do something else, okay? There's tons of fun stuff left to do at this festival, I promise! Come on, just because the tour is ruined doesn't mean our date is over! I told you, this'll be the best day you ever have!" He swam past Keith to lead the way back, leaving Keith to apologize to Blumfump.

"I think we're done with the tour. Sorry about that...I don't think he's feeling well." A part of Keith couldn't believe he was the one cleaning up after Lance like this, but he barely had time to relish in that fact as he hurried to catch up with Lance.

* * *

 **Pidge: Status update me**

Keith glanced down at Pidge's message, thumbing at the device for a second before sighing in relief as the keyboard appeared.

 **Keith: Things are fine, I think.**

 **Keith: Lance seems a little tense with mermaids though.**

 **Keith: I hope Lance is okay.**

 **Keith: I think he's tired.**

 **Keith: Do you know if he's been sleeping alright?**

 **Pidge: Jesus christ, just send it all in one text next time. I literally don't have time to type an answer.**

 **Pidge: Anyways, Hunk says that sounds weird. Lance shouldn't be tense with the mermaids. Maybe you should try something. Keep me updated.**

Keith rose an eyebrow. _Try something? What does that mean?_

"Hey, Keith! Why don't we spend some time here?" Lance waved from just in front of him, overlooking a massive circular stage with a bunch of seats spiralling up around it. The audience was about half-filled.

"Alright." He swam over to Lance, who just took a seat right where they were at the top of the audience. As a group of mermaids began swimming around on stage, Keith discreetly typed into the device.

 **Keith: We're watching mermaids perform.**

 **Pidge: Wow, that sounds like The Little Mermaid. Anyway, why are you talking to me, then? Pay attention to your date!**

He bit his lower lip and glanced over at Lance, who was squinting at the stage through tired eyes. _Try something._

"...it's, uh, kind of like _The Little Mermaid_ , huh?"

Lance grimaced. "Maybe. Although I don't think Plaxum can sing quite as well as Ariel. I guess the dance is alright."

Keith rose his eyebrow; that was definitely not the answer he'd expected. He at least wanted a chuckle or a smile of some sort out of Lance…

"...must be a dream come true for you to get to see all these mermaids dancing, huh?" He offered his best smile. Normally, Lance's constant flirting attempts irritated Keith to no end, but he was willing to make an exception at his expense.

When Lance turned to him, though, the complete lack of amusement coupled by the dark bags beneath his eyes had Keith wondering if he'd said something wrong.

"I like _you_ , Keith; not those mermaids. I told you that already."

If they weren't underwater, Keith was sure he would be sweating hard as he shrunk back beneath Lance's intense stare. He couldn't tell if Lance was correcting him or threatening him or trying to convey something else entirely.

"...right, I know that…"

They held each other's gaze a while longer, as if Lance was waiting for him to say more. When he finally turned back to watch the performance below, his shoulders dropped. Keith's heart dropped, too.

How was he supposed to say something when Lance looked at him like that? What was he supposed to say? After all, Lance hadn't looked this on edge with him since their first day as Voltron paladins. He wanted to speak up...to make Lance feel better...but Lance looked so exhausted and through with him, so he just stared forward and did his best to ignore the ache in his heart that told him he'd failed this date.

* * *

The dance performance wasn't bad by any means, but Keith felt like neither of them were even actually watching. In fact, he felt like Lance wasn't even there; he was uncharacteristically quiet, and sometimes his eyes fell shut for too long to be blinking.

Keith grimaced and slowly pulled his communicator out.

 **Keith: He looks really, really tired...and I don't know if it was because of me or not. What am I supposed to do?**

As always, Pidge responded with lightning speed despite having told him to pay attention to the performance and not on messaging her.

 **Pidge: Hm. Show me a pic.**

 **Keith: Pic?**

 **Pidge: Fml. Take a picture of your boyfriend.**

Keith's face flushed at that, and he had half a mind to argue with her. Instead, he stealthily rose the device up towards Lance, eyes narrowed as he looked through its functions.

 _Picture...picture…_

He hit a button that appeared to resemble a camera, sucking in his breath when the device released a large flash of light onto Lance's face.

Lance immediately perked up and turned to him, processing the sight of the device in Keith's hand. "...if you're bored here, you know, it's okay." He began to get up as Keith quickly stuffed the communicator away.

"No! It's not that. I mean...if anything, you're the one who seemed bored with the dance. If you're tired—"

"No way!" Lance grabbed Keith's wrist and pulled him from his seat, floating backwards. "I'm fine, and it's okay if the dance wasn't captivating. Let's go do something else!"

Keith pursed his lips together—even he could tell when Lance was forcing something. Still, he let Lance pull him along.

* * *

"...Lance…" Keith rubbed his own arm, eyebrows curved down in concern. "Why are we back here?"

"Because!" Lance grabbed an entire plate of the rolls from inside the palace and held it out for Keith. "Here, you should try one of these! You don't have to worry, it won't brainwash you or anything!" Lance's eye twitched as he delivered the same joke from earlier.

Keith accepted the plate only to set it down uncertainly. "Lance, I think we should go back to the castle…"

"What?! No! Why?!" He was quick to grab Keith's shoulders, eyes growing wider. "There's still more stuff we can do, I promise!"

Several pairs of eyes turned to them as passing Mer citizens were drawn to the scene. Even Queen Luxia appeared upon hearing Lance shout.

"Is everything alright?"

Keith bowed his head. "Yes, everything is fine. Lance and I have to go now, though. Lance, come on." He grabbed Lance's arm and began swimming off only for Lance to tear his arm away with a hostile growl.

"Are you not having fun? If you're not having a good time and...if you didn't want to be here in the first place, then that's fine!"

"What?" Keith's eyes widened in shock. Lance looked both aggressive and defensive for whatever reason. "I'm just looking out for you. You look tired, so I—"

"Just admit it! I know you aren't enjoying the date...and you probably didn't want to come. I mean, you never even told me you liked me back! Because you don't, right?"

Keith's chest clenched at the distress in Lance's voice and on his face. He was right...Keith had never answered his confession. After Lance told him he liked him, he'd just let it pass by, as if it'd never happened. Looking back...maybe that was what Lance had wanted from Keith this entire time. During their tour with Blumfump, when Lance had stared at Keith in the clearing and waited for him to speak...during the dance performance, when Lance had reminded Keith that he liked him and had waited for Keith to respond...Lance had been looking for his answer. Lance had been stressing over it, waiting for Keith to put him at ease, and yet...Keith had been perfectly content not saying anything since he knew Lance liked him and he liked Lance.

 _I'm so selfish…_

He swallowed hard as Lance clenched his teeth, eyes strained and red with tears of stress.

 _Just tell him...he deserves it...just tell him how you feel…_

"Well?!"

Every inch of Keith's body began to tremble. His tongue was pressed against the tip of his teeth, as if resisting to speak.

 _It should be so easy...so easy! You just have to tell him you like him...you just have to let him know your feelings. You just have to be open...you just have to let him in...you just have to trust him not to leave you…_

His eyes squeezed tightly as his jaw fell open, and Lance perked up expectantly.

 _Just…_

 _Let…_

 _Him…_

 _In…_

"I…" He bit his lower lip. "...I'm sorry…"

Just like he'd been doing all day, just like he'd done in the days leading up to this moment ever since his confession, Lance waited. He stared at Keith with his heart on his sleeve, cautiously hopeful as he waited for his feelings to at last be addressed by the person they were directed to. And just like every other time, as Lance gave his heart to Keith...Keith turned away.

And he kept silent.

"...I knew it," Lance muttered.

Both of their heads dropped. Keith couldn't even look at him. He couldn't do anything.

"...you could at least say it to my face instead of just ignoring my feelings, you know. You don't have to pity me, Keith."

 _That's not it...that's not what this is about...it's because of me, it's my problem, it's my fault I can't let people in…_

Lance was trembling, and Keith couldn't tell if it was out of anger or sadness. Perhaps it was both.

"Aren't you going to say something?! I—!"

Queen Luxia intervened, tapping her fingers against the side of Lance's neck. A blue glow rose from her hand before Lance fell into her arms, eyes shutting with a single tear trailing down his cheek. Once he was fast asleep in her arms, she turned and offered him to Keith. "My apologies. He was beginning to attract quite a bit of attention, though, and I believe this will be best for you both."

Keith's jaw felt rusty and tight, as if closed off from speaking, but he managed to accept Lance from her arms, looking down at Lance as he slept peacefully, aside from the tear—the single speck of water that could wet his face despite the air bubble provided by the mermaids.

"He looks unwell. Take care of him on the surface." The queen suggested, crouching down to touch Keith's shoulder. "And, if you would have my advice, I offer you this wisdom; love takes bravery and strength."

His face flushed red, and he subconsciously held Lance closer to his chest. "L-love?!"

"Shhh. Change is both natural and unnatural; sometimes it happens without us wishing it, and other times, we must make it so. If you wish to change something, you must take action no matter how afraid you may be."

Keith relaxed a bit as she patted his cheek softly with a nod.

 _If you wish to change something, you must take action no matter how afraid you may be._

He glanced down at Lance, heart knotting against his chest. Queen Luxia had seen straight through him. He was afraid.

* * *

As soon as he brought Lance back to the Red Lion, a familiar growl greeted his brain.

"Thanks, Red." He set Lance down against the wall of the cockpit and took the pilot seat for himself. Naturally, as her previous paladin, Red's eyes lit up, and she took off through the water under Keith's control.

He sighed and leaned back in the chair, taking only brief glances at Lance. Red growled in his head, questioning his hesitancy. He sighed again.

"I...I guess I'm just bad at this. Lance chose the wrong person to like..." A part of him wanted to just lie there and groan about how horrible he was to Lance. Instead, he took out his communicator to groan about it to someone else; after all, he was in serious need of help right now...

 **Keith: I suck at this…**

 **Pidge: Yeah, you probably do. What happened?**

Of course Pidge replied right away. He didn't even have time to gather his thoughts.

 **Keith: I think I messed up. I never talked to Lance about his feelings...I think I hurt him.**

 **Pidge: Then...talk to him about it. It isn't rocket science. It'll save you a ton of heartache if you just talk to him about it.**

 **Pidge: I know it's hard for you to talk about this type of stuff; I relate dude. But don't you feel safe with Lance? Safe enough to talk to?**

He pursed his lips together, briefly glancing at Lance. Just seeing him lie there, completely vulnerable, made his chest squeeze his heart. Pidge sent another message before he could reply, though.

 **Pidge: Don't answer that; it's a rhetorical question. I don't need to know. My point is, if you do feel safe, then you should trust in yourself, trust in Lance, and trust that it's okay for you to be open with him. That's it for my advice.**

Keith clenched his teeth as he reread Pidge's text again and again, eyes drifting to Lance every now and then. Of course he felt safe...and of course he trusted Lance...he _wanted_ to open up to Lance...but he could still feel a heavy weight in his chest.

He clawed at his hair in frustration. "What am I supposed to do now?!"

Red roared almost immediately in response, and suddenly, his surroundings were rushing towards him until the cockpit disappeared.

* * *

 _Lance rubbed the back of his head as he entered the Earth shop at the Space Mall, eyes keeping low to the ground, avoiding all the Earth merchandise that would only remind him of his home until he found the shopkeeper putting up straw hats on all the mannequins as if that would make for a good fashion statement._

 _"Hey! Hi. It's me again. Did you get the merchandise I asked you to grab?"_

 _The alien held up a finger and reached below a cash register. "Of course I did! Nobody ever makes custom requests that they'd like from Earth. I mean, I never sell anything. Here you are."_

 _He pulled out a basket with confectionery paper and a bunch of chocolates—too many to count._

 _Lance grinned and reached for the basket. "Thank—hey, wait a minute! These are all white chocolates!"_

 _The alien man leaned over. "Is that a problem?"_

 _"Heck if I should know...Shiro told me he liked chocolate, but he didn't say anything about white chocolate! There is a very different refinement in flavor between the two, you know."_

 _"...I see. Then, I suppose...should we wait until my next trip to the blue planet so I can grab you the exact merchandise you desi—"_

 _"No!" Lance reached forward for the basket before the alien could put it away, eyes flaring up in brief panic. "N-no, this is fine. I can't wait that long. I need these now. White chocolate will have to do. Thanks, you're a lifesaver. Here, this is all the GAC I have on me. Take it."_

 _"Pleasure doing business with you."_

 _Lance accepted the basket, keeping his head low. After all, if he looked up, he'd see the palm trees, and then he'd start thinking about home. This store was always such a pain to visit...but, it was a necessary visit if he wanted to have the chocolates._

 _"Yeah. Pleasure."_

* * *

 _"You don't understand, this has to be perfect! Plaxum, you understand, don't you?!" Lance exclaimed, surrounded by the merpeople._

 _"Wha? Me?" Plaxum stiffened as Lance sighed, resting his forehead against his hand._

 _"Look...okay, I can help set everything up. I'll sneak out of the castle every night to help you guys prepare this festival. And I swear, if you ask what a 'festival' is one more time, I'll just...do it all myself! Please guys, I'm desperate here!"_

 _Queen Luxia sighed and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Lance, put your mind at ease. We'll help you with this...festival."_

 _"Yay Queen!" He went in for a hug, but the guards immediately pulled him back, leaving him pouting. "Alright, alright. Let's get started! Everything needs to be set up by February 14 for our date!"_

* * *

 _"Lance, have you been doing this every night?!" Allura exclaimed, hands on her hips as she towered over a cowering Lance in the castle's bridge. All the lights were off; everyone else was asleep._

 _"Hey, keep your voice down, Allura!"_

 _"Answer the question! And don't lie; Chulatt's already seen the Red Lion leave every night."_

 _He winced at her volume. "Okay, okay! I...yes. But I have to! Just for a little longer. I'm helping the mermaids set up a festival...for Keith and I...so…"_

 _"Is that why you've seemed so tired lately?" Allura leaned forward and touched a hand to Lance's shoulder. "Lance, you don't look well...can't they do it without you? You need to rest…"_

 _"It's only for a little longer! After the 14th, I can go back to my normal schedule of beauty sleep! Please Allura, I have to. It has to be perfect. I promise I'll rest a lot once this is all over."_

 _They stared into each other's eyes, with Chulatt chirping into the princess's ear. Finally, she sighed and dropped her hand from his shoulder._

 _"...alright. Decaying one's own health is how humans express romantic interest, I suppose. Promise me you'll finally take a good night's rest after your 'Valen-whatever' preparation is over?"_

 _Lance inched around her towards his hangar and gave her a wink. "Of course, princess. Once this is over, I'm gonna sleep for a month. Don't tell anyone, but I feel like a bag of sand…"_

 _She rose an eyebrow. "What is…'sand'?"_

 _He chuckled and glanced over at her from his shoulder one last time. "You're adorable when you don't know what something is, just like Keith. No wonder I liked you for so long."_

* * *

Keith's eyes shot to the size of saucers as the cockpit suddenly reappeared around him. His breaths were more wheezes than anything, and he felt up his seat to make sure he really was back in the Red Lion.

"What...Red, you let me see Lance through your head…" He slowly turned to where Lance slept against the wall, heart twisting and filling up with warmth at the same time. A smile slowly danced across his lips. "...idiot. He...I can't believe he...wow." His breath caught in his throat.

He _definitely_ deserved an answer now.

* * *

It took only a few hours for Lance to wake up, most likely because he'd only fallen asleep thanks to Queen Luxia.

"Wha? Where am I?!"

Keith couldn't help but chuckle at how loud he was while waking up. He pulled some of the blanket off of Lance. "You're in your room."

Lance took in his surroundings for a moment before his eyes settled on Keith. And Keith's eyes settled on him.

"...I'm sorry for making your day rough." Keith apologized.

Lance grabbed a pillow and shoved his face into it with a loud groan. "You? I think I should be the one apologizing...wow, I seriously blew up, didn't I? Man...uh, I'm really sorry...I don't understand why I acted the way I did..."

"I do." Keith confidently scooted slightly closer from where he sat at the edge of the bed as Lance looked up. "I understand why. You were under a lot of stress, and you were running on minimal sleep...I get it. Red showed me everything you did, all the sneaking out at night and the preparations...you don't have to apologize. It wasn't your fault you acted out."

He gulped and held the pillow to his chest. "You mean you...wait. Red did _what_?! She showed you everything I did? Is this a regular thing? Are you my secret stalker? How creepy..."

"No! It was just this once! I didn't even know it was possible!" Keith slammed his hands against the bed as red tinted his cheeks.

They stared each other down once more, one with a look of doubt and the other with a look of denial. Then, they both broke down laughing together, with Lance clutching his pillow.

Keith's smile faded all too easily though as he looked down at his hands, playing with the bed sheet. "...I'm...sorry. About your confession. I didn't know how to respond...or, well, I knew what I _wanted_ to say, I just couldn't say it. I thought it was good enough just to know how you felt, but, well...I know now that that was selfish of me, since it put you in the dark as to how I felt...I guess I didn't consider your feelings..." His heart was pounding in his chest like a hammer. The words were on the tip of his tongue again, and his head was growing lighter and lighter with every second as blood flushed up to his face...but instead of swallowing the syllables, he let them roll out, finally looking up to meet Lance's eyes.

"I like you, Lance."

Time seemed to stand still for them both as the truth seeped into the air, seemingly taking a moment to seep into Lance's brain. Keith could tell when it did, though, because a massive smile spread across his face.

Words didn't do their feelings justice. Instead, Lance crawled forward and enveloped Keith in a hug—a hug that caused Keith to implode several times over. He probably would've fainted had Lance held the hug a second longer.

"...you're shaking." Lance pointed out, pulling back.

Keith gulped and hugged himself. "I know...I haven't done this sort of thing before."

Lance looked him over before offering him his pillow, to which Keith accepted. "It's okay. Just take it at your own pace. There's no need for you to rush...but I _am_ pretty happy to hear you say it." He chuckled with a witty smile. "I already knew you liked me, anyways."

Keith scoffed at that, resisting the urge to chuck the pillow back at Lance. Instead, he reached over the side of the bed. "I found all of your chocolates when I brought you in here. There's a lot…" He set the basket in between them as Lance snorted.

"It wasn't my choice. They came in a huge batch; didn't you say Red showed you all this?"

They laughed together again as Keith brought out the chocolates that Lance had been giving him over the past few days. He'd collected them from his room while Lance had slept specifically for this moment.

"So, I never ate these. And...I thought maybe you'd want to eat them together."

Lance rose an eyebrow as Keith set his chocolates on the bed beside the basket. "But...I bought them for you! Is it because—"

"No, it has nothing to do with my preferences towards chocolate. White chocolate is perfectly fine. But you haven't had anything like this from Earth in a long time, right?" He pushed the basket towards Lance with a smile. "Let's just have this. Besides...it's Valentine's Day...right?"

Lance blinked in surprise, but was quick to adopt Keith's smile as his own. "Yeah. Okay. You're right. Happy Valentine's Day!" He dumped the basket upside down so all the chocolates fell onto the bed before choosing a heart-shaped one. "I guess I'm sort of glad it's white chocolate. Reminds me of my childhood."

He tossed the entire heart into his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut in bliss, and as he chewed, Keith's eyes locked onto his lips. They had just confirmed their feelings for each other...and now they were eating chocolate hearts together...his mind couldn't help but wander…

"What's wrong? Weren't we going to share? You should taste this white chocolate. It's so nostalgic…"

Keith pressed his lips together, made up his mind, and clutched his chest. "...I'll taste it." His nails dug into his skin harder, as if to convince him to keep going.

" _Love takes bravery."_

" _Trust yourself, trust in Lance, and trust that it's okay for you to be open with him."_

He slowly leaned forward towards Lance's face, lips puckering slightly for his first kiss...with Lance…

"W-w-wait! W-what are you doing?!" Lance screeched, cowering away just as Keith went in for the kiss, causing him to miss.

Keith's already pounding heart began throbbing even harder as he opened his eyes, face turning a deep red. "What the hell?! That took like...everything I had! Why did you dodge?!"

"Why are you yelling at me?! I thought you were gonna go at your own pace? Why are you moving faster than me all of a sudden?!"

"I was told to trust in my feelings, or something like that, I don't know!" Keith groaned in frustration and clawed at his hair—mostly to hide his furious blushing. "I just...I wanted to try that, suddenly...but maybe it was wrong…"

"N-no!"

He peeked through his fingers in surprise as Lance bit his lower lip.

"It...that's not…" he sighed and avoided Keith's eyes. "...I want to do it, too. But...we can do it properly…does that sound okay?"

It took all of Keith's willpower to move his hands from his face. He was suddenly debating backing out again, but his eyes landed on Lance's plump lips, and a spark of electricity seemed to bolt through his heart as he nodded.

Both of them blushed with tomato-red faces, unable to meet the other's eyes as Lance scooted forward and grabbed Keith's shoulders.

 _We're really doing this…_ Keith's breathing was beyond erratic, and he could almost hear Lance thinking the same thing through his breathing.

"Keith…" Lance whispered. His breath was against Keith's face, sending goosebumps down his body. And like a siren's call, it forced Keith's attention.

At last their eyes met, only inches away from each other. Keith expected the contact to ruin everything, for his issues to kick in until he was running out of Lance's room to never be seen again. Instead, it just lured him in closer.

"Your eyes...they're really pretty up close…" Keith muttered subconsciously as they drew closer. "...not that they aren't pretty all the time…"

"Keith…"

"And...your breath smells nice…"

Their lips were grazing lightly.

"Your nose is—"

"Dammit Keith, just kiss me already."

Both of their faces heated up at that. Keith slowly shut his eyes, following Lance's example. Then, even more slowly, he closed the last few centimeters between their lips, pressing them together.

He'd expected his head to go light and dizzy—for all logic to drain from his brain all at once. Instead, it was the complete opposite. His brain seemed to fill with everything, every emotion, all at once. He was suddenly seeing images of Lance sitting next to him as soon as he arrived in the dining room, Lance watching him train through the training deck's window, Lance shooting the gladiator to chase it away from Keith, Lance leaving little makeshift valentine cards outside his door every night, Lance...Lance...everything was Lance.

"Lance…" Keith moaned softly as Lance's fingers slid up his cheek, and their lips pressed back together with no intention of pulling apart any time soon.

The kiss was sweet. Lance's lips were sweet, his breath was sweet, his caress was sweet, _Lance was sweet_. And with Lance by his side...Keith felt safer than ever before. He was safe to express himself, safe to open up to Lance, and safe to slowly learn how to handle his intimacy issues.

As their lips pressed together for the third time, Keith knew this was only the beginning of something unspeakably sweet.

Sweet like white chocolate.

* * *

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